EoW September 2007

sheathing, insulating, covering, marking & printing

Ensuring performance

Dow Wire & Cable provides superior materials and innovative solutions that ensure wire and cable performance, quality and consistency from manufacturing to end use.

Dow supplies solutions that meet the unique processing and performance requirements of current and next-generation wire and cable products, along with technical support that extends from formulation through installation. Polymer materials are used as insulation, semi- conductive shields, flame retardant and jacketing solutions.

New Instep™ Polymer Enhancer from Dow Wire & Cable

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Typical applications include: high, medium and low voltage power cable fibre optic cable flame retardant cables for electric and communications cables plenum cable connectors and accessories for power distribution systems consumer electronics wire harnesses for the transportation industry • • • • • • •

The company offers materials that feature high standards of processability and performance, combined with a superior balance of properties, including excellent stress crack resistance, high thermal stability, toughness, and outstanding electrical properties. DowWire & Cable – USA Fax : +1 713 978 3275 Email : info@dow.com Website : www.dowwireandcable.com UK changes for AlphaGary Following the acquisition of the market leading Megolon™ low smoke halogen free compound business in October last year, AlphaGary is making additional significant investments in new compounding capacity at its modern facility in Melton Mowbray, UK. This new plant, which will start up in the third quarter of 2007, will increase AlphaGary’s capacity for the manufacture of halogen free cable compounds that are increasingly being used throughout the world by the wire and cable industry. Additionally, AlphaGary has created a new logistics and distribution centre close to Melton Mowbray, to further improve the supply of products to customers. AlphaGary’s managing director, Bob Gingue, said: “This investment in state-of-the- art manufacturing and the Megolon™ brand of halogen free compounds will enable AlphaGary to provide our customers with enhanced performance solutions for the most stringent wire and cable applications.”The compounding plant currently situated in the older facility based in Manchester, will be relocated to the facility in Melton Mowbray. The research and development facilities at Manchester will also be relocated to Melton. The Manchester facility is expected to be closed by the first quarter of 2008. The Megolon™ range has now been enhanced by the inclusion of the former Sentra™ range of AlphaGary’s low smoke halogen free cable compounds. Each of the former Sentra™ compounds is available under the Megolon™ brand, retaining the same product code. (For example, Sentra™ HF 8110 is now available as Megolon™ HF 8110). In addition to Megolon™, AlphaGary also offers highly fire retardant, low smoke PVC compounds in the Smokeguard™ range, widely used in the manufacture of plenum-rated and European CPD Class B1 S2 cables meeting low smoke and flame spread requirements. More recently, the Smokeguard™ range has been extended to include fluoropolymer compounds to meet the demands for limited combustion cables and the more severe CPD Class B1 S1 low smoke performance level. AlphaGary’s Wire and Cable product portfolio is completed by the Garaflex™ range of thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), Garathane™ range of polyurethanes, and a wide range of fire retardant PVC compounds. AlphaGary Corporation – USA Fax : +1 978 537 8385 Email : info@alphagary.com Website : www.alphagary.com

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EuroWire – September 2007